Forget Kanye vs. whoever it is this week, they’ve got nothing on Joan and Olivia

In this day of manufactured dust-ups between reality “stars” and East/West schisms in the rap world, there is a pop culture feud that has dwarfed them all for more than 70 years. It’s the seething hatred that only a sister can have for a sister, embodied in the claws-bared battle between Oscar-winning actresses and siblings, Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine.

The reason it’s still relevant? Because less than three weeks ago, Fontaine celebrated a birthday. She turned 96. Not to be outdone, de Havilland is still with us. At the age of 97. And the women have rarely been seen in each other’s company since 1943.

Fontaine claimed the golden statue first, for 1941′s Suspicion. Her Best Actress win was the only acting Oscar ever for an Alfred Hitchcock film, and it was also Fontaine’s only win despite one more nomination. She was nominated the year before forRebecca, a role many critics feel she should have been awarded for.

Many theories abound for the reason or reasons behind the split: Was it simple sibling rivalry? Did de Havilland feel snubbed when she graciously offered her hand to Fontaine as the latter walked to the podium to collect her Oscar and Fontaine ignored her? Was de Havilland mad about losing to her sister? Was Fontaine mad about watching her sister win twice? Did it have to do with a name change? (Both were born de Havillands) Either way, the rift cracked wide open in 1975 following their disagreements about their mother’s medical care and her subsequent death.

Thanks to the recent birthday and the 70-year mark of the grudge, it’s all taken on renewed currency. Even the president of theHollywood Foreign Press Association (AKA: The Golden Globes givers), Philip Berk, has written a history of the feud. Check it out here.